Let me begin by saying that I do not consider it the point of this article to give you a minute-by-minute run down of what happened at Radiovision. Heidi has already done that on her blog (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3), and anything that I could put forth in that format would be completely in vain, seeing as she "nailed it" (as the kids say). I would highly recommend reading her blog in conjunction with the article you are currently reading.

We were allotted two main tasks: to network and to gather ideas about how we can strengthen WCBN's presence in the community. This is the dutiful report handed in by the good soldier to the Lord's Council on the outcome of those heroic tasks.

First, networking. Two other college radio stations were in attendance, Yale's and Princeton's. We spent a lot of time making connections with the Princeton crew, they must have plenty of WCBN cards laying in their jacket pockets or on the desk of their FM. Their station (like Northwestern's) is freeform, but under a different definition, meaning that each show is a specialty show but plenty of genres are represented. I also think they said that their station was online only. Yale seems more akin to WCBN's freeform spirit (one of their shows is described as "weirdass jams"), and their personnel were very indeitfiable. I honestly wish we had been able to talk to them more, as we became aware of their presence rather late. I gave their PD my card and told him to keep in touch. I haven't heard back yet, but I think that would be an excellent station to establish a sibling relationship with.

And then there's WFMU itself. WCBN has a incredibly close tie to NYC's premier station of greatness in the form of Ken Freedman, and given the kindred spirit of the two stations, I think it's incredibly important that we go out of our way to show a sense of brotherhood. Freeform is a rare flower, and without the shelter provided by like stations, the flower could easily wilt.

Bad metaphors aside, I do think that maintaining a strong relationship with WFMU is incredibly important. The WFMU DJs we talked to seemed very flattered and glad that we came all the way to New York for this conference. It showed to them that we are a serious, passionate radio station, not just a bunch of students running around all crazy-like. And getting such praise and respect is going to come back to WCBN in a very good way - I am quite certain of that, though how this karma will manifest itself I do not know.

Plus, we got come awesome station IDs. I mean, Ira Glass? Hell yeah.

But now to the real deep meaning of the conference - ideas on that ever-nagging question: What is the future of radio, and how do we, as a freeform college radio station, stay afloat?

Ira Glass actually went on an angry rant about this question. (Ira Glass got angry! Whoa!) He was quite flustered because he is asking this question "every two weeks." In his frustration, he cried, "Who cares if radio survives? Something else will happen." He also made a point to say that as long as people are lazy and in their cars they will turn on the radio. So while Ira's rant doesn't necessarily help us in our mission to strengthen station, it's something to think about. What I got out of it is this: as long as we stay vigilant and flexible, and adapt, WCBN will find a way to exist and will be heard. And that's what we were doing at Radiovision - being vigilant and showing that we weren't afraid to change and adapt.

Now that I have effectively captivated you, I shall present my thesis. Simply put, the cutting-edge of radio is on the internet. Through internet content such as blogs for the station AS WELL AS INDIVIDUAL SHOWS, WCBN will be able to engage more intimately with its listeners and strengthen the sense of community within them. This is incredibly important, because it is this sense of a loyal local community which will ensure that WCBN will always exist. Through internet media (as well as the very character of the station which is already so palpable) we can enforce the message that WCBN is part of Ann Arbor, and that Ann Arbor is part of WCBN.

Beyond streaming content, many DJs (Ken Freedman being perhaps the best example) are using blogs, tumblrs, etc. to present the listener with text, images, and video that creates a more encompassing (and therefore more captivating) experience for the listener. Ken Freedman even has a three-hour chatroom he moderates directly after his show. The experience Ken Freedman is aiming for is that someone can "listen" to his show without turning on their radio - and many people actually do tune in this way. It is a series of streams not limited to the airwaves. Furthermore, it allows a two-hour radio show to become timeless through the internet. This sense of engagement and permanency of content, if the DJ posts on their blog with a sense of intimacy and genuine care for the audience, will draw the community to WCBN on a deeper level. The more content a show or the station as a whole has to offer, the more engaged and excited any one listener will become. To rally this all back to the capitalistic mindset, this means we also get more money at fundraiser. Everyone wins!

The one thing we should never forget, however, is that we are a local station, and that the Ann Arbor community is our number one priority. The type of localism I'm talking about is a cultural localism - we need to show (as we already do with our air's content and can further through blogs) that WCBN's character is the product of its location. One panelist mentioned the important of an organization (in this case the incredibly interactive medium of radio) allowing the people in its community to "tell their stories". A blog is an obvious way to allow this symbiotic relationship to occur (through comments directly to the DJ), the phone another, and talk shows yet another (something WCBN lacks except for Jeremy Daly's Night People show). Another panelist mentioned how creating a "call to action" makes the audience feel like a station is theirs. I believe our call to action is the survival of freeform, and that message can never be shouted on enough hilltops. Events like Movie Night and any concert series we may get running through our events crew are excellent ways to establish inextricable ties with the community - and these events can be promoted, talked about, and given feedback upon on that ever-dogmatic tool, the internet.

And so after two single-spaced pages of ranting, I will leave you with this: Radiovision made me realize how to push WCBN into the next level of audience-DJ engagement - namely, I finally realized the importance of the internet. But on a more sentimental note, I realized that WCBN really is unique to any other radio station, and if we have to give up our stubborn anti-technology ways and create a blog, we should damn well do it.